Hampton, New Hampshire

When you think of drinking in the Northeast, the New York boroughs are the first places that come to mind. Hell, they all have famous cocktails named after them with the exception of Staten Island (All the recipes for the boroughs can be found in the Firewater Lounge's recipe index). So there's a good chance that New Hampshire probably isn't on your list for cocktail meccas. That said, there are libations to be had in the Granite State.

We've already told you about Moonlight Meadery in Londonderry. This time let's take you to Hampton, a city of a few thousand that is tourist-famed for its beach. There we stopped at Old Salt and Lamie's, a restaurant and inn for the night.

The Old Salt and Lamie's restaurant is known for its seafood, and for good reason, its pretty great. As for its separate tavern, er, forgive the pun, but it's a little lame. It has a sports bar-small town vibe with the walls covered in sports memorabilia and New England tchotchkes; really it suffers from an identity crisis that the regulars likely just ignore.

That's not the tavern's fatal flaw. The problem is the drink menu. It's straight out of the 80s and, for cocktails, that's not good. Thankfully, whether you are eating in the restaurant or drinking in the tavern, you should have a Smuttynose.

Smuttynose is Hampton's premier craft beer. The two beers that we liked best (and brought home to Wisconsin) were the Robust Porter and the Old Brown Dog. Both brews are a treat for those that like chocolate notes in their suds. The Robust Porter pours out very brown with a deep tan head. It opens with coffee and chocolate aromas of the style. The porter tastes like it smells, heaps of cocoa, caramel, and a bite of coffee bitterness. Smooth all the way down.

The Old Brown Dog is Smuttynose's take on an American brown ale, a cousin of the English style, yet hoppier and fuller-bodied. In a glass, the OBD is clear mahogany with a small tan head. The pour smells like chocolate and a deep maltiness. In the mouth, it's medium-bodied, smooth, and has just the right chocolate and dark fruit sweetness. The malt carries everything to the finish.

New Hampshire, like most northern locales in America, teaches a drinking lesson- reaching for the local beer is preferable to the slap-dash small-town 'tini' menu, especially in tourist areas.